we know that it is showing the extent of the scandal in fox. >> that is it for "the lead" i'm jake tapper, follow me on twitter. i now turn you over to situation room. happening now, virtual tie, our exclusive new cnn poll show hillary clinton and donald trump neck and neck for the first time in months. is his shift in tone and softer immigration stance appealing -- increasing his appeal? pinning the foundation. clinton goes after trump saying he broke the law by donating money to a group backing the florida attorney general. clinton says he wanted to hold off an investigation of donald trump. and ailing fox.

an unprecedented move by fox, apologizing for alleged actual harassment, and paying out a $20 million settlement. now other top network stars are jumping ship, and ailes assumes an informal role. and unimaginable. an un-imaginable disaster as kim jong-un is calling for more nuclear weapons as he brapraise the latest missile launches. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." >> the race for the white house is now a virtual tide. our exclusive new ornc national poll shows the lead over donald

trump is evaporating with the g.o.p. nominee two months ahead. that puts the candidates neck and neck just nine weeks before election day. clinton has launched a new attack against donald trump over his donation by his foundation to a group backing florida attorney general pam bondi. they deemed the gift illegal and trump had to pay a fine. they think he donated hoping to discourage her from investigating trump university. and a $20 million settlement for gretchen carlson. in the fallout, greta van susgren saying she is leaving fox after 20 years. also following fiery new rhetoric by kim jong-un.

he is railing against joint military exercises by the united states, south korea, and threatening to unleash what he is calling unimaginable disaster. he is also vowing to step up his drive for nuclear weapons and warns an atomic attack could be coming at this time. correspondents and expert analysts are also standing by. we'll take a closer look at our exclusive new poll. first, let's bring in sarah murray who is following the trump campaign for us. donald trump is very pleased with this new poll. >> trump is pleased, but he is still trailing hillary clinton on the question of who is best prepared to be commander and chief. that may be why we saw him hammering home his national security message that looked

like a very public session of debate prep. >> the presidential race hat become a dead heat. >> putin looks at clinton and laughs. >> he says he has a secret plan to defeat isis, but the secret is he has no plan. >> we have problems, folks. we have to figure it out. we have to be careful, vigilant, and strong. >> a new poll shows hill trailing hillary clinton by five points on the commander and chief test, trump appearing with general michael flynn as he slammed clipton's leadership abilities and calls for closer ties with russia. >> wouldn't it be nice if we got along with russia. we have to get along with certain nations, very important, it would be good to have russia and others with us on major attacks on isis.

>> also rolling out 88 retired military leaders saying their backing the bombastic millionaire. >> i think they're working in the right direction. some of the people on his campaign reached out to me. >> amid the national security focus, trump is still facing scrutiny. through his charitable foundation to a group backing the florida attorney general pam bondi in 2013. the washington post said the irs fined trump for the improper donation. she dropped the investigation, but trump says that was not the goal of the investigation insisting they never spoke about it. >> he is a fine person, never soak to her about it.

>> the american people deserve to know. the attorney general did not proceed with the investigation. >> both sides are saying they did have that conversation. she asked donald trump for a koe nation. she knew her information was looking into it at the time. they also say that they did speak about that donation, but not about trump university. >> thank you very much. let's get more on our exclusive new orc poll showing donald trump and hillary clinton locked in a virtual tie. clinton has 43%. third party candidates are in single digits. let's dig deeper. david, what else do the polls indicate. >>. >> let's first look at the key independent voters.

donald trump is besting hillary clinton by 20 points, 49% to 29%. you see gary johnson there with 16, and jill stein with six. remember mitt romney won independent voters by five points, but he still lost the election, a 20 point gap among voters. now look at the next fact vor. looking at the state of the race. enthusiasm. take a look at this finding, wolf. 58% of donald trump voters tell us in this poll they're very or extremely enthusiastienthusiast. only 46% of hillary clinton supporters say the same thing nap is a big gap there. that is something that the clinton folks will want to work on if they want the kind of turnout they're trying to get from this election. and the honest and trust worth

aniness. something that is dogging hillary clinton. take a look when we ask about who is more honest and trust worthy. it is clearly turning into a disadvantage for hillary clinton and you see donald trump trying to take advantage all of the time on the campaign trail. >> putting all of this into a perspective, this was a national poll. the election will be run in the battleground states. what is that picture looking like right now? >> it is a really important question. we all know you win the white house by the state by state battle in those battleground states. you see there, the election, if it was to come out, hillary clinton would be elected president. nothing in this poll out today says trump's path to 270 votes got easier. we will be on the lookout for

more state polling in the days ahead. right now she has an advantage in nearly every battleground state. >> david, thank you very much. supporting donald trump, the first member of congress to endorse trump, i'm going to get through all of that, let's clear up right now the issue, and hillary clinton made a big deal of it today. the $25,000 donation that donald trump gave to pam bondi when they were looking into the trump university. they insist there was nothing wrong, but it looks like a moment, and the accusation is pay for play. you give a member of congress --

you give a politician some money and they do something for you. >> hillary clinton is desperate at this point in time. he took a double digit behind in the polls. and hillary clinton is doing what they teach you in politics 101. i'm not surprised in the least. what mr. trump did, it pales in comparison. so this is not surprising, she will continue, hillary clinton will, to attack donald trump on every front because she can't defend the indefensible. >> he used to say i would give democrats and republicans -- that's how you get things done, you give them money, it sounds like in this particular case, he

didn't want florida to get involved. she was the attorney general -- >> i will say there was no quid pro quo here. nothing of the source. she asked for a donation, clearly it was not something that should have been done. she paid a fine of $2500. this was a distraction from the drip drip drip, and now donald trump is clearly in the lead. >> he seems to be shifting his position on immigration here in the united states and the undocumented immigrants in the united states. it seems apparently moving closer to your position. let me just give you the background right now. in the latest interview, he said this about undocumented immigrants getting a legal status in the united states without necessarily leaving the country. he says i'm going to, by the

time we have a secure border, we'll have a wall. what is he suggesting here? he seems to be going back and forth on the sensitive issue. >> he says he will get e verify up and running. it could take a couple years, will deal with the 10 million or 11 million immigrants that are law abiding. and here is the call i have hear for six months. let's give the visas, working with the government -- let the employer control the visa. let him get his work force. let the employer, and if he has current workers on his farm. and they would not go back across the border.

>> there is no path way, there is a path way to a legal status. that is the kind of discussion congress can have with president trump, a couple years down the road. there will be no deportation force. trying to round these folks up. a criminal element. all americans would say let's get them out of there. once we know we have secured the border. >> the only way to get legal status and citizenship is for them to apply legally. some of them are able to stay here, and they say maybe i will. they can leave the country if they want citizenship.

i think this is mr. trump saying he will work with congress. and many of us in congress share the concept i have with figuring out a way to process these folks, get them out of the shadows, and move forward with a league workforce. >> i know you and i disagree on the sensitive issue. >> we hope so. to discuss more, we'll take a quick break and be right back.

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the presidential contest is now too close to call. the cnn orc poll of voters shows donald trump and hillary clinton

in a virtual tie. we're back with chris collins of new york. i want you to listen to something that trump said about hick and then we will discuss. >> i just don't think she has a presidential look. and to get the look, you have to get the job done. >> you need a presidential look, you have to get the job done. many people are saying the presidential look is because she is a woman, she doesn't have a presidential look, she is being sexist. >> i could not disagree more with those saying that. mr. trump in his business, and his company, as you can see, he treats women with respect. >> is he trying to capitalize on the fact that there has never been a woman president? >> when you see her --

>> what, someone looking presidential, i don't think she has a presidential look, what does that have to do with her qualifications to be president of the united states? >> i think the irony is the liberal press said that mr. trump did not look presidential. he is looking more presidential. he was criticized for months and months by not looking presidential. >> when the press said that, it was not because of the way he looked, it was because of the substance of what he was saying and how he was acting. >> i would say the same thing here. he is not talking about the way she looks physically, he is talking not unlike what the press said about him, she is not suitable given her character flaws, she does not present herself in a way that she would

be a true counter. i would not read anything more into that than the same criticism that was coming at donald trump the last six months. >> one final thing, and it is sort of related. 2 21st century fox, they have now reached a settlement with gretchen carlson. >> i don't think you need to use the word alleged any more. >> it has not been adjudicated in court or anything like that, he is now an official advisor to trump, is that appropriate? >> i can't speak to who is advising him or not. certainly that behavior -- >> is it a liability. i use the word allegedly, you didn't, sexually harassing

gretchen carlson. >> you can't condone his behavior, so we need to win to coach it conservative, move our country in oath direction. if there is an expert out there to give him advice. >> he is very smart, but is it appropriate for him to be flying in trump's plane, and would you want someone like him giving you advice? >> no. >> okay, a blunt answer, that's why we like having you on the show. we're going to talk about trump's lead coming up, and roger ailes advising trump. and how much influence is he actually haves on the trump

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>> with just nine weeks to go, trump and hillary clinton are virtually tied among laiikely voters. re be rebecca bird is joining us. david we went through the numbers, here they are, trump 45, clinton 43, johnson 7, stein

2. did trump turn the election around? >> i don't know if it turned around as much as it was before the conventions. a close margin of her rors race. he seems to be creeping up in this poll a little bit i look at this like hillary clinton had a very successful conference. trump was spiraling over this controversy with the kahn family. i think what we're seeing now is a return to what both campaigns expect to be, a close election in the fall. >> trump seems to be making his position more confusioniing on illegal immigration. is he deliberately muddling his position right now in order to

win political support? >> first of all, an under statement to say they are muddying it. i think what is happening within in the trump campaign is there is a power struggle about how to address this issue and there are those within the trump campaign that want him to take a hardline position, wolf, on this, and we saw this after that trip to mexico. it seems very magnanamous. i think for donald trump right now, the last person he is listening to is probably influencing what is going on with the press. >> in terms of our new poll, he turned things around rather dramatically he has the $25,000 contribution to his charitable

foundation when she was thinking, or officials were thinking about participating in a lawsuit against trump university. the charitable foundation had to pay a pine that was an illegal political contribution. how much of a problem is this for trump. >> i think considering that donald trump has been out on the campaign trail, when it comes to the clinton foundation, this raises serious questions. i will point out that i was speaking with hope hicks today, and she said this contribution "was legitimate, sent to the wrong group after a series of errors." it has since been corrected. they used the word legitimate. they don't consider this contribution to be a mistake, they think it was legitimate -- >> they paid $2500 to the irs as a penalty. >> they paid a fine to the irs to clear it up, but donald trump

has mainly raised the issue himself. so it is only fair game for these questions to be asked for the trump campaign. >> i'm anxious to get your opinion, does not have in the world a "presidential look. you heard what chris collins had to say, is there a sexist hmt to it? that trump is widely accused of? >> it is hard to know what donald trump means. but the clinton campaign as you expect is certainly pushing that interpretation of this remark. pushing back saying donald trump was wrong to say this. it could be that donald trump is hitting that hillary clinton is too weak to be a president, doesn't have the stamina. so there are plenty of

interpretations, one of them of course that she is a woman and of course a woman doesn't look like a president because there has not been a female president before. >> hillary raised this yesterday, and then left it, and said i'll leave it to you all to figure out what it means. but she introduced that she heard it was said. >> and donald trump being so vague all of the time. saying things without considering the weight of his words. >> and it is also dangerous for us to interpret what donald trump means. i didn't interpret him as saying it was because she was a female, but he does throw these things out and steps back. >> he made a similar remark

about carly fiorina. i think he got an understanding today that if he tries to push this sort of comment during the fall debates, for example, coming up in a few weeks -- >> when he said look at that face. >> exactly, not having a presidential look. >> yeah, that was carly fiorina. and the settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit. ♪

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a newly accessible hillary clinton answered questions on her campaign jet today. joe johns is in florida. the q and a sessions seem to be a regular thing, for at least two cays in a row. >> yeah, hillary clinton taking questions, using the opportunity to defend herself. launching new attacks on donald trump. also here at the public event in tampa, focussing on national security issues just days away. >> hillary clinton fielding questions from the press for a second day in a row.

>> i had so much fun yesterday i thought i would do it again. clinton called out donald trump for not releasing his tax returns. >> scams, the frauds, the questionable relationships, the business activities that stiffed workers, refused to pay businesses. his tax returns tell a story that the american people deserve and need to know. >> clinton took aim of trump's command of foreign policy and national security issues. >> when it comes to fighting isis, he has been all over the map. he talks about sending in american ground troops. not on my watch. that's not what we're going to do. >> clinton is also targeting trump on the air waves, highlighting his past comments

in a new television ad. >> what sacrifice have you made for your country. >> i built great structures, i had tremendous success. >> that's sacrifice? >> he says whatever he feels like at any given time. because you can do that when you're a tv star, but you can't when you're president of the united states. >> clinton is still facing questions when it comes to her honesty. while secretary of state. >> today she dismissed calls by republicans to launch an investigation whether or not she launched a probe for an archive of her e-mail messages. >> honestly, they never quit. they keep coming back.

>> that as a new cnn orc poll shows that 50% of voters see trump as the more honest and trustworthy candidate. vice president joe biden tells jeff zeleny should let clinton open up a little more. >> and more signs that the post labor day tempo is picking up. the campaign announced today that michelle obama will campaign in virginia for hillary clinton and the -- there will be more campaigning after that with elizabeth warren on friday. >> joe johns in tampa for us. thank you. let's get back to our political experts, david, that 50-35 number, 50% of people think that donald trump is truth worthy over hillary clinton at 35%.

>> hard to call that surprising after the last 16 and 17 months of coverage of hillary clinton dominated by the e-mail controversy she is facing. i don't know that her mission is to somehow get a majority of people to think she is honest and truthworthy. i think she needs to make herself more accessible. get rid of the notion that she is hiding something. >> she also says that she doesn't think her husband, bill clinton should step down from the clinton foundation until after the election, not right now. would it help her if he were to step down at this point? >> if he steps down now, it is like they're acknowledging guilt that he should not have been in that position. by waiting it out, it allows for them to say listen, assuming she wins the presidency, this is the

appropriate time for him to step down. there is a lot of winding down that goes down. a lot of good work that the clinton foundation does that they have to shift over nap is not the right answer either. >> when she met with reporters in the back of her plane, she spoke on and on and on about donald trump not releasing his tax returns. there is a lot of people that care about the tax returns. does it matter at this point with 53 days to go if he does? >> they have a right to see what is in his tax returns. they have been doing this all of the way back to richard nixon. he was under an audit and he released his tax returns. it is as ridiculous as not holding a press conference for 275 days. to not release your tax returns is denying the public a right to know something that we have a right to know.

if he is paying a very small percentage of his taxes, we have a right to know. if he has been overstating his wealth, we have a right to know. and the campaigns trying to avoid public disclosure has been one of the sad parts of this campaign and it does not meet the standard for what we expect our presidential candidates to live by in modern times. >> and she is becoming much more accessible to the traveling press core with her she went back yesterday to answer questions. answering reporters questions. doing interviews. is she succumbing to all of the issue out there? >> it is funny how the pressure from the opposing party can change the behavior. you had a lot of pressure coming from reporters like us who want access to the candidate, who they're covering, and also from republicans. donald trump has been pushing

the theme that hillary clinton is not transparent. you look at the honest and trustworthy numbers, and that is a continuing problem for her. she needed to take steps to be transparent, to open up, and that donald trump is not being fully honest with his tax returns. stay with us, i'll have more coming up, also today's unprecedented settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit.

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other important news coming into the situation room right now. a stern new warning to north korea from president obama. after meeting with southern california's leader at a prifk rim summit. saying the provocation there's only invite more pressure and further deepen its isolation.

they launched three ballistic missiles this week. kim called for more miraculous achievements in bolstering the referee forces. they threatened attacks, in the cause of his words, unimaginable disaster. other 90s we're following including the unprecedented settlement of the sexual harassment lawsuit involving roger ailes at fox news who advises donald trump. brian todd is here with more of the details. a huge sum of money involved. >> a massive amount. gretchen carlson is getting $20 million from 21st century fox and what is also making big news and sparking some outrage is that the man whose alleged behavior started all this, roger ailes, not only doesn't to have pay any money himself according to the lawyer, he is also landed an important influential role as an adviser to donald trump. the man who is now running neck in neck with hillary clinton in

the race for president. in an extraordinary statement, fox apologizes for the alleged sexual harassment carlson said that she suffered from this form he fox news chairman, roger ailes. here is part of that statement. we sincerely regret and apologize for the go fact that gretchen was not treated with the respect that she and all of our colleagues tea serve. they said company like fox don't do things like this. they don't pay $20 million settlements when there's no there, there. the he said he was harassing women for several years. ailes was ousted at fox after more than 20 women reportedly spoke with an investigating law firm about his alleged advances toward them. it is important to note, roger ailes still and continually denies the allegations. what is also making news, ailes now advising donald trump as he

prepares for the debates. trump of course has serious problems attracting women voters. a cnn poll just out shows him trailing by double digits among women. democrats call it a slap in the face to women voters. trump has a pattern of insulting female candidates at a debate on abc, he said about clinton, i don't think she has a presidential look. you need a presidential look. we know what he said about carly fiorina. how he insult her looks. the trump campaign, interestingly, denies that ailes is advising them formally or informally. we reached out to roger ailes' attorney who would not comment on this settlement other than to say ailes is not contributing to any of it. also that the attorney would not comment on the criticism that roger ailes could be a liability to the campaign. >> this comes on the same day that fox is losing a long time host, greta van susteren. what do we know about that in. >> not a great day for fox.

she reportedly tried to renegotiate her contract after ailes resigned but those negotiations did not pan out. she opted to leave now. interestingly she posted on her facebook page that fox had not felt like a home to her for a few years. >> one other question, has the trump campaign said anything publicly about roger ailes? will he continue to be an unofficial informal adviser to donald trump, especially going forward toward the first presidential debate? >> the trump campaign is denying that he is even with them as an adviser in an informal or formal role. they will not talk about roger ailes. but our media corn, the host of reliable sources, he has good sources saying roger ailes is a key informal adviser to donald trump, prepping him for the debates with hillary clinton. and i talked on david gergen, our analyst this morning. he advised several presidents. emhonestly speaking, you really couldn't do much better than roger ailes for a debate coach.

he helped get richard nixon get elected. he advised ronald reagan and george w. bush on some of the key moments, successful moments in their campaign. donald trump couldn't do much better as far as strategy in a debate and how to present yourself in that debate and hit hillary clinton on certain key points than with roger ailes as his coach. >> but right now bringing a lot of baggage as well. thank you very much. coming up, the race between donald trump and hillary clinton is now too close to call. we'll have details of our exclusive new cnn/orc poll. see me. don't stare at me. see me. see me. see me to know that psoriasis is just something that i have. i'm not contagious. see me to know that... ...i won't stop until i find what works. discover cosentyx, a different kind of medicine for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. proven to help the majority of people find clear or almost clear skin. 8 out of 10 people saw 75% skin clearance at 3 months.

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happening now, too close to

call. cnn as he exclusive new polls show donald trump at a virtual tie with hillary clinton. the republican gaining ground after weeks of lagging behind. what is driving trump's numbers up? fighting over veterans. trump meets with military families and wins the support of dozens of retired generals. this as he is accused of disrespecting veterans. who is winning the commander in chief test? called to investigate. republicans are pushing for another federal probe of hillary clinton's e-mails. i'll talk to the chairman of the house oversight committee that his concern the key evidence may have been destroyed. and iran escalates its high seas harassment of the u.s. navy. we have new details of another iraq maneuver that put americans at risk. we welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room."